Killer malaria loses sting this monsoon

After making headlines during the monsoon last year, malaria cases have seen a dip this year. Although the health centres and hospitals are registering a considerable number of malaria patients, it has not been alarming like 2010.

The BMC health officials say that there is a 60% drop in malaria positive cases. This monsoon has seen 16 deaths due to malaria.

In August, so far there has been four deaths including that of a 50-year-old woman from Lower Parel on Monday.

Dr Ramesh Chaturvedi, head of the department of preventive and social medicine department, Sion Hospital, said, “This time it has been either raining non-stop or there has been long dry spells. And there has been less accumulation of water.”

Apart from malaria, the city is also getting very few cases of dengue and chikungunya. “Dengue cases were also on rise in the city last monsoon. The Parel and Lalbaug areas had a majority of dengue cases last year. But this monsoon, we are hardly getting dengue positive cases,” said an official from Haffkine Institute, Parel.

Dr Pratit Samdhani, consulting physician at Jaslok hospital, said, “This year we are getting more cases of stomach ailments like severe diarrhoea. Malaria figures are not at all alarming.”

Last year in May, the city had 3,405 positive cases of malaria and three deaths. The number rose to 4,503 in May 2011 but no deaths were recorded.